English teaching jobs in London often involve reading Carol Ann Duffy, but teachers will find her words in the newspaper rather than the textbook today (October 2nd).

The Poet Laureate has added her voice to the growing number of academics, teaching experts and leading children's authors condemning the government's current education policies as being harmful to children.

She joined Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman and 200 other experts including Melvin Burgess and Michael Rosen in putting their signatures to a letter to the government published in The Times.

Ahead of education secretary Michael Gove's speech to his party conference, the letter calls for the coalition's reforms to be halted.

The collective wrote: "Competition between children through incessant testing and labelling results in a public sense of failure for the vast majority. The drive towards ever-higher attainment in national tests leads inevitably to teaching to the test, which narrows the range of learning experiences. Harmful stress is put on young people, their parents and their teachers."

Teachers have long been arguing with the government on similar lines and yesterday took to the streets in industrial action to highlight the folly in the government's current policies ahead of Mr Gove's conference address. Further strikes are planned in London, the north-east, Cumbria, the south-east and the south-west regions on October 17th. 

Yesterday, the education secretary responded to the strikes by labelling teachers as the "enemies of promise", but it seems the educators have been backed by the Poet Laureate.

Ms Duffy and the other signatories added that the current plans must stop as they could have damaging consequences for children's mental health, the future opportunities that will be open to young people and the quality of childhood itself.

As a teacher can you see the government backing down to the recent pressure? Will the "damaging" reforms be halted?